UPDATED

One of the first indications locally of the impact that coronavirus might have worldwide happened on Feb. 5, just more than three months ago. (Insane, right?) That was when TITAS announced at a Chinese dance company, scheduled to perform later than month, had to cancel due to travel restrictions occasioned by COVID-19. It first seemed like an outlier, a bump in an otherwise flat road. Ah, the hazards of international artist exchange. 

Of course, it snowballed quickly. Eventually, the entirety of the remainder of TITAS’ 2019–20 season was canceled; even the Command Performance Gala, reset for August, became a victim.

But TITAS — which for decades has cultivated the import of the best in dance companies the world over — is soldiering on with the announcement of its 2020–21 season.

It is, executive director Charles Santos concedes, an act of faith: 13 dates from October until April, with seven troupes performing… hopefully. And all are U.S.-based.

“I made the decision not to do any international companies for several reasons,” he says. “One was, I was unsure if I would get their visas; and even if we could, we would run the risk of quarantines. But I also thought, let’s focus on American artists. So this is our first-ever all-American season, but what’s great is, they are all different from each other. They show the gamut of artistry [in dance].”

Each company is a return engagement — “we have a history with all of them,” Santos says — which adds a level of comfort. Still, coronavirus has been a huge disruptor; the night before they planned to announce the season, the opening company, Diavolo, pulled out of the tour. Santos was able to quickly replace them with MOMIX. (The schedule, which was supposed to be announced last week, was postponed to tweak the dates and out of respect for the Black Lives Matters protests.) EDITOR’S NOTE: On June 22, TITAS announced that Complexions Contemporary Ballet would replace MOMIX in the lineup.

All of the works that will be performed are preexisting pieces; Santos says “socially-distant dance will have to be developed — that will be a year away,” he predicts. Some companies have already announced they plan to have their dancers live and work together for weeks before the tour begins specifically to create their own kind of herd immunity. But the way the works will be presented will definitely evolve when they return.

“We’ve been holding regular meetings in the Arts District, sharing concerns and issues,” he says. “We are hearing what the city is planning with venues and openings and we are expressing our needs based on that.” There are more demands for live performance that, for instance, movies don’t worry about. “We are looking at a myriad of factors — when they will rehearse, how we will get them here, how will we be social-distancing of the audience. It’s a leap of faith that we will be up and running by the fall. The arts have gotten us through this shelter-in-place — Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime are all part of the arts world. It’s been necessary to everyone’s sanity. But nothing replaces a live experience. There’s no comparison to being live in the room.”

“This is the world we’re in now until we’re not. But we’re excited about celebrating American companies as all these companies are struggling to survive.

Here is the full lineup, with Santos commenting on each (tickets are available online here):

Opening Night Celebration (Oct. 15, 2020). “This is a new event to replace [the canceled 2020 Command Performance Gala], with a preview performance,” which officially opens the following night.

UPDATE: Complexions Contemporary Ballet will open the season, replacing MOMIX.

MOMIX (Oct. 16–17). “The piece they are bringing is fairly new — Alice in Wonderland. It has never been here and it’s fanciful and otherworldly… and a great opener to the season.”  CANCELED.

Alonzo King/LINES Ballet (Nov. 6–7). “Alonzo is one of the true geniuses of our time: Mindful, experimental and has beautiful dancers. His piece is futuristic and unreal.” (Pictured: Biophany.)

Parsons Dance (Nov. 20). “Always an audience favorite — the quintessential modern American dance company.”

Ballet Hispanico (Jan. 15, 2021). “I think it’s their 50th anniversary tour and are doing several new works, but I’m waiting to learn what they do.” 

Doug Varone and Dancers (Feb. 12). “Doug got permission from the Bernstein estate to do a suite from West Side Story, but the choreography has nothing to do with the plot of the musical. There’s this moment as an audience member that you let go of your preconceptions. No one is as human as he is. He knows how to use pedestrian movement and bring it to dance.”

A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham (March 26–27). “He’s presenting a fantastic new work that was going to premiere this summer in Houston that is funny, beautifully crafted, touching and dealing with love in the black community and I was like ‘I have to have it.’”

Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet (April 2–3). “It has been three years since they were here last, and we’re excited to bring them back. We have a history with all these companies so it’s a really special season.They have a very European feel about their company.” 

Command Performance Gala (June 12). Always a mix of great dance groups, invited to perform at a fundraising concert.

— Arnold Wayne Jones